The Truth Behind the Damaged Boy
by coolstorydad
Summary: Severus Snape is a 17 year old student attending Hogwarts. Despite his young age,he's faced with many problems including abusive parents,bullying,unrequited love,and depression. One day he meets new Ravenclaw member,Katrina Belmonte,and the two become friends. Join Severus on his journey of discovering friendship,love,bullying, school,and his inner battle between evil and good.
1. First Day of School

"James, put him down!" Lily yelled as she she tugged on James's arm.

James was using the Mobilicorpus spell on Severus, who was now dangling upside down mid-air as kids laughed and pointed at him.

He wasn't visibly shaken by it. He and James had a petty rivalry for years now. Since they were young James and Sirius always picked on Severus, so he was used to it, but what hurt Severus was how Lily could just stand by and watch. He and Lily used to be close friends, but when they started Hogwarts they were separated, Lily was a Gryffindor and Severus was in Slytherin.

For the first year or so the two were able to carry on their friendship but as time went on Lily began making more friends and even had an admirer, James Potter.

James disliked Severus, Severus wasn't quite sure why, he just assumed it was because of the closeness he and Lily had.

But even as Lily and Severus began to drift apart, James still hated him.

In the past Severus would fight back, but he stopped. He knows he's more powerful but he wouldn't use magic against him, especially the Dark Arts, which he had a growing interest in.

It was Katrina's first day at Hogwarts. She has been wandering the campus aimlessly, looking for her potions class. On her way, she heard loud laughter and shouts, but decided to ignore it. As she wandered deeper into the campus, she looked over into the courtyard and saw a large crowd of students gathered around in a circle, which piqued her interest.

She made her way over and was surprised to see a young man floating mid-air.

She was shocked because just the other day she had learned that in Hogwarts students weren't allowed to use magic against each other. Also, this was bullying. She was surprised and curious as to why no one has intervened.

After watching for a few minutes, she decided that she'd have to be the one to intervened.

Katrina whispered,"Piertotum locomoto."and used her finger to direct James's wand out of his hand, stunning both James, the crowd, and even Severus who hit the ground with a hard thud.

Everyone shrieked and was confused as to what was happening and directed their attention to James's wand which was floating away from his reach.

James, Sirius, and a few others tried to help get James's wand as Severus pulled his body off the ground. His eyes quickly perused the sea of faces, curious as to who helped him, and saw Katrina slickly directing James's wand with her wand, and thanked her mentally, though he showed no physical sign of gratitude.

The two held eye contact for a brief second, long enough for Katrina to give Severus a small smile before she turned off to walk to class.

Severus gathered his things and quickly ran off to his class also.

Upon entering the classroom, a few students gave him dirty looks, but he ignored them. He was used to it.

His eyes quickly skimmed the room, none of the desks were empty, so he'd have to sit next to someone.

His eyes stopped when they landed on a certain someone. It was her, the girl from earlier.

She was reading her textbook. He could tell she was concentrating hard by how her eyebrows were furrowed.

She was a pretty girl. The sun shone through the window and was directly on her, giving her an angelic glow, highlighting her lovely brown glossy hair, and tan, smooth skin.

He wasn't sure if he should go sit next to her, or take the chance sitting by a person who found him utterly repulsive.

"Take a seat anywhere, Mr. Snape." the teacher said, sternly.

Upon hearing the teacher speak, the other students looked up at Snape, including the girl.

When she saw him she smiled, and waved her hand, beckoning him to come over.

Snape slowly made his way over and sat down, eyeing her cautiously then curiously.

Before he sat down, he could smell her scent, she smelled like a mixture of vanilla and another sweet fragrance he couldn't quite put his finger on.

He slowly brought his gaze up to her face and was mesmerized. She had dimples and the deepest brown eyes he's ever seen.

"Hello! Katrina Belmonte- Kat for short. Nice to meet you!" she said cheerfully. Severus nearly facepalmed himself for sitting girl was nothing but a bucket of sunshine, completely opposite in personality from him.

He stared down at her hand. Normally, he'd ignore people but this girl was different from the other people he's been around. She was the first person to intervene whenever he was getting bullied. She was the first person who looked at him with neither disgust nor pity.

Reluctantly, he shook her hand and replied, "Snape, Severus Snape."


	2. New Friendship

Severus flipped through the pages of his spell book and froze when he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"What'cha readin, ?" Katrina called out before sitting cross-legged next to him.

He slowly brought his gaze off the book and over at her.

She was smiling cheerfully as she began to take out some books of her own.

How can someone be so cheerful… Even to someone like me, he wondered to himself as he looked down at her.

Confused as why he hadn't answered, Katrina looked up to him and caught him staring and when their eyes met, Severus quickly directed his gaze back down to his book.

"Spells." he responded, sounding not an ounce interested in conversation.

Severus read for a few hours and now it was starting to get dark. When he looked over, he was shocked to see that Katrina was still there. He was confused as to why she was hanging out with him since she, being the outgoing girl she is, probably already made dozens of friends.

His eyes then lowered and noticed that she was sketching something. Curiosity got the best of him and he leaned over to look but she quickly put the drawing to her chest.

"I thought you were working on homework." Snape asked as he looked back down at his book.

"I was. But I got a bit bored and started sketching." she replied closing her sketch book, wanting to change the subject.

"So Sev.. Tell me everything about you, you could go on for hours and I honestly would care."

Severus scoffed. My life is dreadful, there's nothing interesting to tell. Hah, maybe she'd love to hear about my terrible childhood or maybe about how my first love is in love with a total toerag. My life's an absolute joke. One I don't want to share, he thought to himself as he looked off into the distance.

"It's okay if you don't want to share. Why ruin the mystery, eh?" she said.

Severus looked down at her again. He really didn't understand this girl.

He watched as she put her stuff into her bag and laid down onto the grass.

Her face was relaxed and looked like it was at peace as her eyes looked up at the clouds. She looked deep in thought and Severus took advantage and allowed his eyes to admire her beauty.

He snapped out of his thoughts though, however, when he suddenly heard her speak again. "I have to run to the restroom. Don't sneak off anywhere!" she said before getting up and dusting her skirt off.

Severus didn't respond, so Katrina took his silence as an agreement and ran off to the nearest bathroom.

When she came back out, she was happy to see Severus still sitting there in that same spot and quickly made her way back over, but halfway through the courtyard she noticed Sirius and James heading over to him.

"Hey Snivellus. What'cha reading?" James asked as he levitated his book out of his hands.

"Oh!Do you not like that? Then how dare you do it to my wand?" James yelled into his face.

Katrina didn't want Severus to get hurt because of her and quickly fessed up, "He didn't do it, I did." she said.

Severus's eyes widened. "She's lying." he said in his low, monotone voice.

"Oh, so Snivellus you speak now?" Sirius said, mocking Severus's voice.

"I did it, and I'll do it again too, if you don't watch it!" Katrina retorted.

Severus closed his eyes. Since she's new she doesn't understand what she's getting herself into, nor did he want her to get involved. And he knew that the only way to get the attention off of her was for him to use magic on them.

Before either could speak, Severus pulled out his wand and began, "Expelliarmus" but James was to quick, he hexed Severus, causing his body to stiffen and fall to the ground.

Katrina pulled out her wand, which resulted in laughter.

"Katty, look, you're a cute girl. I have a proposition, we'll let this go if you go out with me!" Sirius said, as he flipped his beautiful dark locks out of his eyes.

Katrina scoffed. "Oh, please. Even under a hex I wouldn't go out with you." she called out, causing the other kids to laugh, even James.

"Very well, then." Sirius said, trying to hide the hurt in voice. "We'll see about that."

Lily pulled on James's arm. "James, stop. Let's go." she pleaded and began to tug on Sirius's arm too. The two relented and off the group went, along with the crowd of bystanders.

"Finite." Katrina repelled the spell.

"Are you alright?" Katrina asked and kneeled down to help him up. Severus looked up at her irritatedly, but the anger vanished when he looked up at her. She was peering down at him with worried eyes.

Also, that was the first time anyone's ever asked how he was feeling. He promised himself that if she were to ever ask again, he'll tell her the truth and admit that he actually wasn't fine.

Once the two settled back down under the tree, Severus broke the silence first, "Sirius. I think he fancies you."

Katrina looked up from her homework and over at Severus, "I don't care. Dude's a total jerk."

The two were enveloped in silence once again.

"Severus." Katrina said.

"Yes." Severus responded, not looking away from his book.

"Could you help with this problem." she asked shyly, expecting him to say no.

Severus scooted over and the two worked on the problem. When they finished, Severus looked up, and was surprised when he noticed how close they were. Their faces were only inches apart.

He quickly scooted back over and picked up his spell book, but before he could open it, Katrina asked for help on another problem.

The whole time through the problem Severus couldn't concentrate but he was able to help and when he finished, he scooted back over as quickly as possible.

Katrina continued working on her homework silently while Severus watched. He couldn't help but notice a hair that had fallen out of place. He reached over and tucked it behind her ear and when he realized what he had done, he had mentally face palmed himself a dozen times.

Katrina froze from her work and looked up at Severus, who was now packing his stuff up.

"Severus." she called out, not receiving an answer as he walked off and began to fade away into the darkness.


	3. Regrets

Severus sat at his desk, no sign of Katrina, he thought to himself as he stared down at his folded hands lying limply on his desk.

He sighed as he remembered what had happened yesterday. She must've thought he was a freak or a perv and probably would never talk to him again, but he didn't blame her since most people in his life left him. They walk in and walk right back out, he was the one at fault here, he thought to himself.

It's strange though how quickly she came into his life and how quickly she exited.

On one hand, he was glad she'd leave his life, it was more quiet, he had more time to think, and more time to study. He preferred being alone.

Is it strange that he liked being alone? Why is being alone, or being a "loner" considered a bad thing, he wondered to himself.

The only downfall of being alone, is actually being alone. Ever since he was young he felt lonely and incomplete. He wouldn't deny his loneliness, it's like he wanted to run away, but he had nowhere to go, like he wanted to scream, but no one could hear, like he wanted to say something, but could never find the words to say. It was frustrating.

On the other hand, he longs for relationships. He desires to have someone he could call his friend.

Whenever he sees a group of people laughing together, he would always watch and wonder what it's like to have that and if he deserved to have that.

Sure he hung out with other Slytherin members and could possibly call Bellatrix Black, Evan Rosier, Wilkes, and Rodolphus Lestrange his friends, but he never felt that close to them, nor did he want to be really close to people like them, but they're the only people he has.

Although he wouldn't admit it to himself, he enjoyed Katrina's company. She was different from most people. She was refreshing.

Although he told himself to be happy about her leaving, a part of him was disappointed.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a familiar voice coming from the back of the room. Severus looked over his shoulder and saw her talking to Sirius.

He could tell Sirius fancied her, since usually he didn't pay much attention to girls.

He was a bit curious if she had liked him back. She looked pretty interested in the conversation and he even heard her giggle in a girly way he's never heard.

To some, they'd find this scene quite lovely, "Aww young love!" they'd say, but on the other hand, Severus found it quite sickening. It angered him seeing her laugh with him, as if she hadn't seen how he treated her "friend" just the other day.

He turned his gaze back to the front of the class, and as he did Katrina noticed.

She smiled at Sirius and said goodbye and walked back over to her seat.

Severus looked over at her, surprised that she had come back, and still disgusted at the scene he had seen earlier.

"Hey Sev!" Katrina called out.

Severus didn't respond.

"Sev?" she called out, as she looked at him closer, confused as to why he was ignoring her.

Severus glared at her, which caused her to be and stay silent. She sat down and opened her textbook and didn't bother trying to talk to him again.

The whole time, Severus felt bad. She was being kind, why couldn't he just mutter a simple "hello" he asked himself, as he too opened his potions book.

After class, Severus made his way through the courtyard and sat in his regular seat to read and work on his homework.

"_Tobias Snape, leave, now." Severus's mother called out to his father._

_The three of them were in the middle of dinner, and almost out of nowhere an argument arises._

_"This my damn house, you wretched mudblood!" he screamed back._

_His mother gasped before getting up to try to pull him out, but his father pushed her to the ground. His mother lay on the ground crying, "Tobias! I'm sick and tired of this."_

_Severus couldn't take it anymore._

_He quickly made his way out of the kitchen and into his bedroom. Once inside, he slammed the door and locked it, before he slowly slid himself down and sat on the ground in the fetal position._

_He could still hear them, and he could hear crashing noises._

_He dug his nails into his head as hot tears ran down his face, he couldn't take it anymore._

_Suddenly, there was banging on the door._

_"Severus, open this door." his father yelled._

_"OPEN IT RIGHT NOW! I SWEAR-" he yelled, as he was violently kicking the door._

_Severus crawled to the other side of the room, and watched as his door shook violently._

"Severus, Severus, wake up." he heard a soft voice murmur.

It took him a minute to recognize the voice, and then he realized, it's her.

He slowly opened his eyes and was surprised that he had fallen asleep, and even more surprised that he was now leaning onto her shoulder.

He quickly sat upright, avoiding eye contact.

"Severus." Katrina said.

Severus looked over at her and was confused as to why her eyes looked so worried and he watched as her hand slowly made its way up to his face.

She was wiping the tears off his face.

He didn't like this, not one bit. He didn't want anyone to see his vulnerable side.

He pulled away from her, and quickly gathered his things before bolting away.

"Severus." Katrina called out while chasing after him.

Other kids, including Sirius, were now watching the scene.

Once she was close enough, she grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop. He snatched his arm away from her, and glared at her.

"Severus, what's wron-" she started, but was interrupted by Severus.

"Nothing's wrong. I don't want or need your sympathy." he said in a deep, cold voice.

"Severus, I-" she started again as she reached for his arm.

Severus pulled back violently, almost making her fall to her feet. "Don't touch me, you filthy mudblood."

Severus winced as the words came out his mouth. Once the word escaped his lips, he instantly regretted it as he looked down at her eyes, now brimming with tears.

Before he could say anything else, his "friend", Bellatrix came out and yelled, "Yeah, got that, mudblood? Now scram." she said, as she pushed Katrina to the ground.

(A/N: I know Severus's father was a muggle, and his mother was a witch.. But for the sake of the story, let's pretend that his father was a wizard, and his mother was a witch. K? (: )


	4. The Project (short update)

Severus looked up at Katrina, who was scribbling away in her notebook.

It's been a few weeks since their fight and they haven't talked much since. They did talk in class, however, since they were partners often, but their conversations never left schoolwork.

Today, they were working on their potion mid-term project. Katrina had begged their professor to use the classroom after school hours to get it done.

While working, Severus's hands were shaky and he made a few mistakes, so much unlike himself.

Katrina wondered why he was so off today, but didn't dare ask. She was still mad about him calling her a "mudblood".

She wasn't mad that he said it in front of a large group of people, nor at the insult, but that he, someone she considered her friend, would call her such a derogatory term.

If he apologized, she'd forgive him, but he hadn't. He didn't show any signs of remorse, and it seemed that he hadn't missed her being around.

She sure as heck wasn't going to go chasing someone, who didn't want her around, around trying to be their friend.

If he valued their friendship, he would come to her, so now she was waiting.

This was their third try at the potion, and as Severus attempted to shake a little scruvy grass into the pot, the bottle slipped from his hands and fell into the pot.

He slammed his hands onto the table in complete frustration.

Katrina sighed as she looked up at him.

His eyes were red and bags were clearly visible under his eyes. They had been working for hours. But it seemed it wasn't from working, for the past few days, his appearance has been changing.

She couldn't help but wonder what he was going through that would change his appearance so much and throw him off his game.

She looked away, as to try not to feel pity for the boy, she once considered her friend.

"Severus, if you're tired I can work on this alone." she said, not looking in his direction.

"I'm not tired." he said back at her, matter-of-factly.

"Yes, you are. You look like you haven't slept in days!" she said back, almost hollering.

"It's none of your concern. I can do this.I don't need your help." he said, as he began working on the next batch.

"Why are you acting like such a brat?" she yelled, now losing her temper.

"Don't worry. Go and crawl back to Sirius. Don't send a wedding invitation." he said, not looking away from the pot.

"Me and Sir- Are you nuts. If you ask me, it seems more like you two are the item." she sneered before continuing, "Actually. I think i know why none of you get along. Is it Lily? It's obvious how you look at her."

Severus finally looked up. "I feel nothing for Lily anymore, I'm no fool, see where her loyalty lies."

Katrina scoffed as she folded her arms looking Severus up and down.

"You're like this because of Lily, aren't you?"

"If you must know, my father killed my mother a few days ago." he replied, shocking both of them.

Severus wasn't sure if he were saying this to shut her up or if he needed someone to tell. Although deep down he knew why he had said it. He couldn't keep it bottled up anymore.

"What?" Katrina stuttered out, all previous signs of anger quickly evaporating.

"You heard me." Severus said coldly.

Katrina walked over and placed her hand on Severus's shoulder, but he brushed it off. "I'm not like you or your little friends. I'm strong. I don't need your sympathy. I'm fine." he said sounding as if he were trying to convince himself rather than her.

Katrina shook her head, "Look at yourself, Severus. You obviously aren't fine."

Severus didn't look away from the pot, he couldn't look at her. He knew if he did, he wouldn't be able to control his emotions.

"Severus." Katrina called out.

"Severus." she called out again, before turning him around.

Severus directed his gaze to the wall, then to the ground, anywhere was fine except her eyes.

She laid her hand on his face and stroked it softly.

He finally directed his gaze back to her. To her, he looked like a cold, lost puppy. Although she was still upset about the whole mudblood thing, she couldn't ignore this. Afterall, he is someone she does care about.

She sighed as she looked into his eyes.

Then something happened. Severus felt an urge, almost like he had snapped, and the next thing he knew, he crashed his lips on to hers.

Stunned, Katrina pushed him away, but she soon gave in, giving his tongue permission to enter her mouth.

Their lips moved together slowly, then began to gain speed as the kiss began to get deeper and needier.

Severus placed one hand on the small of her back, desperately pulling her body closer to his, and another on the back of her neck while she did the same.

He then took a few steps forward,pushing her body against the table, as the two got more and more lost in the kiss and their breathing got heavier.

They both knew this wrong, a teacher or student could walk in at any time, but neither could stop.


End file.
